What shall we do? : eschatology and ethics in Luke-Acts / [print]
Joseph M. Lear.
- Eugene, Oregon : Pickwick Publications, (c)2018.
- x, 191 pages ; 23 cm
Introduction -- John the Baptist and Jesus: opening proclamations -- Received and rejected in Luke: the way to Jerusalem -- Sharing in the last days: the Jerusalem church -- Received and rejected in Acts: hospitable Gentiles -- Conclusion.
Since the 1960s, biblical scholars have noted a relationship between eschatology and ethics in Luke-Acts, but to date there has been no substantive study of the relationship between these themes. What Shall We Do? offers such a study. Lear observes and develops a logic that Luke-Acts presents that begins with eschatological expectation and ends with a particular pattern of life, especially with regard to possessions. He makes the bold claim that Luke has not given up on eschatological expectation. The healing of the cripple (Acts 3), Cornelius's conversion (Acts 10), and the shipwreck narrative (Acts 27-28) are figurative studies of coming eschatological salvation. In this context, Lear demonstrates that the sharing of possessions becomes the means by which a new eschatological people is formed. At the beginning of Luke's Gospel, John the Baptist says the true children of Abraham will escape the coming judgment because they share their possessions. The logic of this claim is worked out throughout Luke's two volumes, culminating in barbarian Maltans becoming children of Abraham because they hospitably receive the Apostle Paul. ;
9781532618208 9781498243575
2018300531
Bible.--Luke--Criticism, interpretation, etc. Bible.--Acts--Criticism, interpretation, etc. Bible.--New Testament--Ethics. Bible.--Luke--Commentaries.
Eschatology. Ethics in the Bible. Biblical scholars. Sharing--Religious aspects.